The Elder Scrolls: Equestria
by NazoPureChaos
Summary: The Elder Scrolls with ponies. What more is there to say? Takes place after the exodus to Equestria (Hearth's Warming Eve), and is told from three perspectives.
1. Prologue

_You knew it was coming._

_ You should have acted._

_ It was foretold of their return._

* * *

From the time after hatred reigned,

When the Three from cold death ran,

Shall rise the one who was not slain,

And bring forth the souls of the damned.

* * *

_ They're already here._

_ Their defeat was merely a delay._

_But nopony wanted to believe._

_ Most even forgot that they existed,_

_ And when the truth dawns,_

_ It dawns in **shadow.**_

_But there is something they fear._

_ Find them – Heed the words of the past,_

_ And shut closed the gates of Tartarus._

* * *

Hidden in the three, remade anew,

From Three to One, from one is two,

And when the Three to One become,

The dawn of night has just begun.


	2. Anomaly

**Chapter One**

Anomaly

_"Your ignorance of our homeland doesn't surprise me."_

**~Skyfall~**

Destiny is a funny thing, the idea that some unknown force is influencing your every move. Most people don't even believe in it. Instead, they prefer to live their lives under the preface of control. But no matter how hard you try, you can't control your life. Not completely, anyway. Destiny can make a person great, or tear them down. The wise turn it into a desire, a drive to fulfill. The foolish use it as a tool, an excuse, claiming, "it was meant to happen," and losing all responsibility. Still, destiny exists, and after my experience in this world how could I deny it? It wasn't luck that landed me on that airship. Oh yeah, speaking of that...

My eyes opened to the sight of blue sky and the serenity of clouds floating by. Oh, and stars; stars floated overhead. Pretty stars. I watched the lights twinkling around my vision. I tried poking one, but it disappeared. I pouted and tried again. I also realized the my head was hurting. Now that was curious, why'd my head hurt? I don't remember banging it on anything... Oh well. I'll figure it out later. I was admiring stars that were floating in the middle of the day. Wait, something about that didn't add up. Hmm.

Where was I?

I was staring at stars in the sky... watching clouds float by... on a nice, hard, wood-like surface. Oh, wait, it was wood. Whew, glad that's cleared up. Okay, so what is made out of wood, and flies next to stars in the sky? ... Am I on a floating porch? No, that didn't make an ounce of sense.

Well, it seems like these stars aren't going to reveal anything to me. That was nice of them. Maybe if I looked the other direction, I could sum up what I'm on, and where I am. Actually, my neck hurt like hell as well (heh, that rhymed...), which was making it hard to turn my head. After a few tries, I managed to twist my head around, but now I was in a predicament. Instead of stargazing, I was staring into the silver eyes of a large, heavyset blue stallion.

I opened my mouth, and prepared to ask the question of who was this guy. "Ow..." Well, that wasn't right. Maybe I should try again. "Oww..." I repeated, albeit a little more dragged out. Apparently my brain wasn't on the same wavelength as me. I tried again a third time, this time concentrating hard on what it was I wanted to say. Ready? Here we go!

"...Owww..." Well, damn. So much for communication. The stallion just snorted, lips curling at the tips. It would seem my inability to communicate was a viable source of humor for him. Well laugh it up! That's right, it's the amazing me! I'm here from seven to ten every Tuesday!

"Yep, you'll be fine," he said, before turning his back to me and wandering out of my peripheral. I heard something creak, and a second later the thing I was on tilted as it turned. Watching clouds move by that fast was too much for my brain however, and I groaned as my headache throbbed. Closing my eyes seemed to help alleviate some of it, and I reopened them only once my head stopped hurting, or at least wasn't unbearable.

When I did, I saw that the blue stallion had walked back on over, this time with a bottle of some red liquid. Perhaps a smarter pony than I would have questioned his integrity, and by proxy the purpose of the potion, but I was not a smart pony. So it was lucky for me that the red liquid was merely a healing potion. A few seconds after ingestion my headache disappeared, and I felt a warmth in the back of my head, accompanied by a sense of relief. Everything but the pressure on my forehead seemed to vanish.

I took another sip of the liquid, and placed the now empty bottle next to me. "Who are you?" The other stallion just laughed.

"Who am I? Why now, that there's a long story. Best told in a pub, with some nice, strong liquor, and some privacy. But for now, I am Captain Bronze Nut. Most people just call me 'The Captain', however." A silver aurora encased the empty bottle, and it floated out of sight. I saw a similar silver glow coming from the mat of white mane on the Captain's head, and realized that he was a unicorn. "But," he continued, "seeing as it was you who landed on my airship, I do believe you should introduce yourself. It is only common courtesy, after all."

Oh, oops. Well that was easy. I opened my mouth, prepared to explain my accident, when I realized something. I had no idea what my name was! Or, now that I thought about it, how I even got here! I shut my mouth and my eyes widened. What was I going to say?

The Captain's jaw tightened as his lips pursed. "Well?" he said tersely. "What can you tell me about yourself?"

"I... I..." I stammered as I sought for a distraction; something to give me more time to think. He stared at me, it looked like he was calculating me with his eyes. "I... don't know..." I finished lamely.

The Captain's eyes narrowed. I swallowed. "Don't know... what? Hmm? Perhaps you do not remember how you ended up topside on my ship?" I just stared at him, sure that whatever I looked like, it was ridiculously dumbfounded. I laid there pathetically silent, waiting for him to ask the question. "But what about you? who are you?" And there it was.

"I... I..." I stuttered, trying to grasp any sort of explanation. The Captain's eyes narrowed in thought again.

"You don't mean to tell me you don't know who you are?" he said. I merely swallowed and nodded my head solemnly. "Well now, that seems like a rather convenient coincidence." But, it wasn't a coincidence! I swear! Oh hay, what's he going to do if he thinks I'm playing him for a fool? He must have seen the fear in my eyes, because he quickly said, "Now, now, don't be hasty. I believe you," he stroked his beard with a hoof. "But these are strange times we live in, lad. Must be careful. Who knows, you might be a changeling spy. Would be very intuitive for a changeling to have his mind wiped before taking on a difficult charge."

I had absolutely no idea what he was rambling about – what in Tartarus was a changeling? What was Tartarus? Damn it, what the hay happened to my memory! Then the Captain advanced on me, his horn glowing. I reeled, trying to scramble away from him.

"Whoa, now. I'm just going to perform a spell that will tell me if you're a changeling or not. If you're not, you won't feel a thing. If you are, well, you still won't feel a thing, but it will make you dizzy." My pause gave him enough time to scan me with some light that matched the glow from his horn. There was a tingly feeling, then nothing.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"That was the spell. It's a bit complicated to explain; let us just say that it's... an applied truth spell." I nodded, not really following. "Speaking of which, it also verified that you are not lying. Memory loss... it's a rather peculiar predicament you're in." He seemed to be speaking more to himself than me. "I must admit, you've rather peaked my curiosity. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions on the matter?" he smacked himself on the side of his head. "Oh, but where are my manners? Hmm? Let's get you off the floor, lad."

After I able to pull myself off the wooden deck, I was able to better drink in my surroundings. When the Captain said airship, I didn't think he meant literally. Yet here I was, standing near the bow of a giant ship floating through the clouds, held aloft by an elaborately decorated balloon nearly three times the size of the ship I was on. The ship itself was huge, large enough that I found it hard to believe that a crew of ten could sail her, much less that Bronze Nut captained it himself. I supposed being a unicorn lightened the load, however.

I saw him trot over to the wheel (which was almost as large as him) and cast a spell on it. The wheel began twisting and turning of its own accord, adjusting the direction and steering the ship. The Captain beckoned for me to follow him, and he led me down through a set of double doors to the lower decks. The brass buttons on his uniform jangled, breaking the silence as we entered the kitchen. Grabbing two mugs with his magic, he trotted over to a spigot and poured a dark, golden liquid into both. He placed them both on a table and sat down, motioning me to do the same.

"So..." I said. "Why do you believe me?" I took a sip of the drink; it was sweet and sugary, complemented by the spice of cinnamon. The Captain was quiet at first, lips pursed and eyes squinted. He seemed to be lost in a reverie before snapping out of it, and looking to me with a unjudgeable look.

"Hmm... several reasons," he muttered, taking a generous gulp of the cider. He cleared his throat and continued. "The first of which is the truth spell. You weren't lying when you said your memory was gone. That, and I also applied a... memory spell at the same time." A memory spell? Now why did that sound off? "It, er... it lets me scrounge around in your head. Er, sorry," he said, abashed. I bit back a retort, letting him continue. The look on his face, however, put a few snakes in my stomach. "And, well, it proved you were right. No memory. And that's the second reason. When I probed your memory, I discovered something rather... disconcerting. You have no memory."

"But I already know I lost my memories." A troubled look past over his face, lingering as he thought thoroughly about what his next words were.

"It's... not an easy subject to explain. Hmm... I would tell you to sit if you were not already." He stroked his beard in thought. "But, when I say you have no memory, I don't mean you don't remember. If that were the case, then there would be phantom remnants of your past left – memories do not disappear, they are merely forgotten. But you," he pressed, staring hard at me, "You have no memories; no past. It's as if you never existed until several minutes ago.

"You are an anomaly."

And now those snakes were replaced by a multitude of rocks. No, wait, there were the snakes; they were still there. Writhing and squirming and slithering... ugh, trying not to think about it. Or the... weight... in my gut. I had no idea how to react to that, and so a pregnant silence descended in the kitchen. Bronze Nut drained the rest of his glass, and laid it back down with a thunk that resounded in the dead air. I just stared into mine. Not sure if I blinked.

"What is this?" I said, quieter than I intended.

"Home-brewed apple cider. Well, ship-brewed. Sometimes I purchase a few barrels from Brae every now and then." He was calm. A little too calm for just telling me that I can't exist. I didn't like it.

"Home-brewed?" I asked, not making eye-contact. "You make it yourself?"

"Yes. I buy crates of apples from the Hearts' Passion Heart Acres down in Dun Mare, whenever I make the trip. Been meaning to swing by there sometime soon. Actually... hmm... maybe..." The Captain began mumbling to himself, staring off into a dark corner of the kitchen, all the while stroking his long, white beard. He was so enthralled with... whatever had taken his fancy... that when I posed my next question, he was perturbed that I even existed. Which probably went right along with the fact that I was an anomaly. One of the snakes slithered again.

"What? Oh... er, sorry. What did you say?" he said, placing his hoof back down.

"What... " My mouth was dry, and I took another sip of the cider before continuing. "How can I not exist?" The Captain stood up to refill his mug at the tap.

"I'm sorry, that probably was not the best thing I could have said. It was... rather tactless, I admit." He turned back around to face me. "It's... difficult to –"

"– I mean," I butted in, "I'm... I'm right here," I chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm not a foal, right? I obviously exist!" He stared at me, and I stared right back. I wasn't born yesterday, so I had to have a past! That just wasn't normal. The Captain bit his lip as he thought. "I didn't... just... appear out of thin air! I exist!"

The unicorn stole a glance away, and something in me snapped. "I EXIST!" I yelled at him, jumping off the seat and stepping closer to him. "I'm RIGHT HERE! SOMEPONY GOT HAPPY AND MADE ME, SO I HAVE A BLOODY PAST! So explain... explain to me how you can say I don't have one!" To his credit, the Captain didn't flinch, and took it like a stallion. I don't know how long I went off on him. He waited until I ran out of breath to speak.

"Feel better?"

"... No," I sighed, putting my head in my hooves. He placed a comforting hoof on my shoulder.

"I have a few theories as to your lack of memory, ones that would explain the... your predicament, and the memory loss. And they're perfectly understandable theories," he told me. Then, seeing my mouth open, added, "Theories that I do not wish to explain just yet. Not until I have further proof. Does that help?"

"Not much," I replied. Personally, I believed that he made the theories up in an effort to comfort me, a gesture that did not go unappreciated. But, if he did have insight into my... anomaly, then I'd have to accept it at face value. Bronze Nut smiled.

"Well, on the scale of helpfulness, 'Not much' ranks higher than 'Not at all', so I'll take it."

I snorted a half-hearted laugh. What else was I to do? There was no point in wallowing in... whatever it was ponies wallowed in. What do ponies wallow in? Look at me! I'm so pathetic, I don't even remember what ponies wallow in! And yet somehow, that only made me laugh.

"Shall I assume that that means you'll take it as well?"

"Sure," I replied as I pushed myself off the floor. Bronze Nut hooked a hoof around me and helped lift me up, then we both walked back to the lone table. I stared at the golden puddle slowly dripping onto the floorboards, and apologized. He just waved it off, conjuring some magic that removed any trace of the spilled cider. Then, (as if he was trying to wound my pride), he grabbed my mug and refilled it.

"Well, don't try to make me feel inferior with that magic of yours," I chuckled. Bronze Nut didn't find it funny, as he responded by staring at me, eyebrows furrowed. Then his eyes widened in revelation and wonderment.

"By the Sun and Moon, you don't even know what you look like?" When I shook my head, this realization just hitting me as well, he sighed solemnly. "Well now, isn't that something. Here, let me conjure you up a mirror, and let us see what you look like." His horn glowed silver once more, and a shimmering pool of reflective magic swirled around in the air, forming into a ovalish mirror.

Cautiously I trotted up to it, taking a gander at my reflected appearance. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but my hide appeared to be white, or possibly a very light shade of blue. I stepped close enough to the mirror to find out that it was indeed solid, and that my coat was definitely white. White, like the clouds floating outside. My mane hung wildly, a vivid dark blue that partially covered my golden irises. However, the very first thing I noticed was the pale horn jutting from between locks of my hair.

"I'm a unicorn." It wasn't a question, or even an exclamation. It might not have even counted as a statement; it just was. I am a unicorn. What did that mean? I'm not sure what I expected. Did I expect a sudden surge of joy in knowing what I look like? Happy? Excitement? If I did, I received none of those things. I didn't feel cold, or mirthless either. I merely felt... normal. Possibly content, but that might be stretching it. No, content might actually be what I was feeling; yeah, I was content. And, looking back at my reflection, I also felt like a part of me had been returned.

"Really? I might have guessed, what with your lack of wings," Bronze Nut chuckled, then paused. "Er... too soon?" My look gave him his answer, then it was my turn to pause as what he said registered.

"Wings?" I said as we walked back to the table and sat down. "There are pegasi too?"

The blue stallion looked stunned. After a moment he frowned, and said, "Sorry, it astounds me still the depth of your... perhaps I should ask instead what do you know? Such as, you know of the existence of us unicorns, but not of the pegasi?"

I felt like I was being studied. Was I being studied? Well, based on the way his eyes bore into me, and the thoughtful way he stroked that beard of his, then yes. I was being studied. When I saw that I too was an unicorn, then I assumed that was all there was. Not a solution that, in hindsight, made any sense. Of course there were other species, like pegasi! How absurd was I to think otherwise?

What did I know? Random things, certainly. For instance, I knew the word Tartarus, but had nothing to relate it to. What was Tartarus? Or possibly who was Tartarus? Was it a thing, an object, or something more, like a place, or perhaps even a person?

In the end, Bronze Nut thought it best to just explain everything, and what I knew we could skip over.

"Hmm... where to start, where to start," he murmured, tapping a hoof to his chin. "Well, let's start at the very beginning."

"– A very good place to start," I interjected. Bronze Nut huffed.

"Yes, so it would seem. Well, before I begin your history lesson, lad, how about I renew our mugs, hm?" Then, noticing my untouched second, corrected, "Er, perhaps just mine, then." I felt slightly guilty, reminded that he had brewed it himself, and promptly took a sip of the cider, hoping to curb any ill feelings. Of course, as I took my sip, I realized that I was, indeed, very thirsty.

Bronze Nut stopped short as he trotted back with his... third? Or was it fourth? full mug of cider. He stared at my empty mug with a raised eyebrow, then looked at me and snorted. "You would have to wait till I got back from the tap, wouldn't you?" I smiled sheepishly as he carried my mug off.

"Sorry."

"Ah, don't be sorry, lad. It's the good stuff I brew, and I can't remember the last time I had somepony to sit down and drink with." Bronze Nut sat down on the wooden bench across from me once more, hoofing over my mug. "But back to your lesson. Would I be wrong in assuming you don't know the name of our country?" I shook my head, flushing at the ludicracy of that monumental ignorance. "Well, the land we are in is named Equestria. Not too hard of a name to remember, seeing as you'll hear it everywhere I imagine.

"Us ponies didn't always live in Equestria, however. About a... decade or so... hmm; er – several years ago, the three tribes made an exodus to Equestria. Now, hold on, I'll get to that," he said, motioning for me to keep my questions until the end. "We used to live in a far off land to the north. Back then, the three tribes lived in a sort of... mutualistic symbiosis that was borderline parasitic in some respects." The last part was delivered in a cold and dangerous tone of voice, and a pained hatred flickered in his eyes as he said it. Then, just as it came, it went, and he continued after taking a generous gulp from the mug. "Those were hard times, lad."

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

After Bronze regaled me with what would come to be known as the Tale of Hearth's Warming in decades to come, we continued to sit in the silence of the meadery (cidery? Is that even that right word?). However, as opposed to the earlier silence, this one was void of the dark shadows looming over me. It was a peaceful silence, a moment seemingly stopped in time where me and the Captain just sat, draining his supply of home brewed apple cider. Then, as the whole ship tilted slightly, I came to a realization.

"Um... Captain?" I said, breaking the silence as I hooked a hoof around my mug before it could roll any further away.

"Hmm? Yes lad, what is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering... If you're down here with me, then who's flying this ship?"


	3. Animosity

**Chapter Two **

Animosity

_"What are you, a SPY?"_

**~Applebuck~**

Dun Mare. Capital of Earth, land of the earth ponies.

The most simple way to describe Dun Mare was to call it a fortress, but that was likening a dragon to a lizard. Dun Mare was a fortress, but it was more than that. It was the world's most secure stronghold, it's defenses only matched (and possibly surpassed) by the magical wards guarding the unicorn palace of Canterlot. It was the home of Chancellor Smart Cookie, and by extension her personal guard – the Fire Knights.

To say the Fire Knights were her personal guard was once more another understatement, as they numbered almost into the hundreds. Although, compared to the amount that numbered the Knights of Earth, it could be mistaken as personal. The Fire Knights themselves were a prestigious offshoot of the Knights of Earth, and were held at high esteem by the entire caste system. As such, it was not easy to become a Fire Knight.

Those who wished to test their mettle could try for The Gauntlet. There were requirements, such as already having sworn the oath to be a Knight of Earth, but those paled in comparison to the perilous trials of The Gauntlet. The knights who passed successfully were welcomed into the ranks of a Fire Knight, and were given accommodations befitting their new rank. As for those who failed, well...

...There was only one way to amend that level of dishonorment.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

Applebuck was an earth pony with ambition. He was also a pony in the Earth Legion, a moniker scrounged up by the common folk. His rank was Praefect Applebuck, and after ten years of service to the Legion he earned it. But, as it was said, Applebuck was a pony with ambition. The rank of Praefect was not high enough, and that is what brought him to stand in front of the gates to Dun Mare:

He had come to run The Gauntlet.

The Fortress of Dun Mare was an opposing city. The majority of it was located inside a bowl-shaped crater carved into the side of a mountain. There was only one entrance, and that was the main gate, which was guarded day and night by two guards at the base and two to four archers hidden in watchtowers. The stone bricks used to build the walls was made from a dark granite, but it's color paled in comparison to the mountain itself.

The mountain Dun Mare inhabited was known as Mount Ebony, and for good reason: The entire mountain was one large rock of ebony. Despite being the largest known source of ebony ore, Smart Cookie had already declared a law limiting the amount of mining to mostly for constructional purposes. The pitch black of the mountain coupled with the smooth sheen of the rock looked, for the most part, near demonic from far away (and from up close to boot).

There was only one way into Dun Mare, and that was through the very gate Applebuck stood in front of. Well, unless one was willing to risk going through the sewers, but that was suicidal.

As Applebuck approached the gate, one of the guards drew his sword. Those who took part in the gate rotations were issued special weapons; once again, intimidation is key. This stallion had apparently chosen a longsword made of ebony. Although, despite the value of his weapon, it appeared they were still issued the standard suit of iron armor.

"Halt! State your name, rank, and business," droned the guard through the hilt in his mouth. The other kept his post, but continued to watch Applebuck for signs of hostility.

"Praefect Applebuck. I am here to run The Gauntlet," he replied. At the word 'praefect' the soldier snapped to attention, whipping a hoof to his brow, and somehow managed to knock the sword out of his mouth. Applebuck rolled his eyes. Perfect, we have a new-blood on guard shift.

"P-praefect, sir! I'm sorry sir, I didn't recognize you in that armor, sir!" he flushed. It was true, for the journey here he did not exhibit his commissioned armor. As a praefect Applebuck had been issued a fine set of steel plated armor, along with an embroidered cape signifying his position and a kite shield with the Earthen coat of arms. However, for the two-day journey through the Eversand Desert he thought it best to travel light – meaning his leather armor from when he was a scout, and his trusty warhammer sheathed to his back.

Not that he would ever admit it to his comrades, but Applebuck actually liked the way his scout armor looked on him. He thought that the dark brown of the worn leather rather complemented the lighter tan of his coat. Not that he would ever admit that.

"So, you're here to run The Gauntlet, huh?" the second guard asserted. He grabbed the first's sword and shoved it back into the sheathe, giving him a disapproving glare before turning back to Applebuck. "Knight Obsidian, and this here new-blood is Daggerlot. He's one of the newer recruits." Knight Obsidian raised a pitch-black hoof to his forehead, and the praefect returned his gesture.

"At ease, soldier." Obsidian fell back into a relaxed stance, and for once Daggerlot did something right. "And yes, you heard right. I'm here for The Gauntlet."

The knight let out a low whistle. "Dangerous business, The Gauntlet. They say the hardest part is getting by the Quartermaster, but I don't believe it for a second. I hope you're ready. It'd be a shame to lose a praefect, seeing as we don't have many to spare." Obsidian rapped on an adjacent window and motioned for the pony inside to open the gates. "There you go, gates are opened. Good luck."

Applebuck acknowledged him with a nod, and trotted through the gates of Dun Mare as the knight and the recruit grudgingly retreated back to their posts.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

Not far into Dun Mare, nestled in an alcove and surrounded by jutting rocks, was a small apparel shop. It sold several varying kinds of armor, at varying kinds of belated prices. The owner of Shady Steel's Armor and Apparel, Shady Steel, was a rather dubious character. He was well known among the guards as a purveyor of stolen goods. The only thing keeping him from the staring at the wrong side of a set of bars was a lack of evidence against him. Or, more accurately, whatever evidence there was would suddenly disappear, and one or two of the guards would be trotting around with a shiny new shield or helmet.

So, it was no surprise to Applebuck when a robed unicorn maintaining a magical shield burst out of the door as he walked by.

That was a blatant lie.

Applebuck picked himself off the paved walkway as a guard galloped after him, sword held firm in his mouth. The unicorn twisted on his front hooves, and his horn glowed; a hole in the shield opened, and a ball of fire was launched at the pursuing knight. The knight was able to bring his shield to bear quick enough to deflect most of the flame, the force knocking him back onto his rump as he cried out in pain.

Applebuck lept into the fight, mentally criticizing himself for not recovering sooner. He turned his head and grabbed the handle sticking out for convenience, and pulled as he launched himself at the enemy. The warhammer bashed against the unicorn's shield, causing it to flash white and flicker. Sensing that his shield wouldn't withstand another pounding like that, the unicorn threw his telekinesis around the other guard's sword, whipping it around and slashing at the air between himself and Applebuck.

Applebuck stopped mid swing, (which was not easy when swinging a thirty-five pound, large, steel hammer), and backed away swiftly before he could be cut by the unicorn's offensive. Today would be the day he just had to wear his leather armor! The sword the unicorn stole from the guard was an ebony shortsword; it would carve up his armor in seconds at best.

As he continuously dodged the lightning-fast swings of the unicorn, Applebuck heard the war cries of more knights coming to his aid. The unicorn did too, and both of them turned to the direction of the sound just in time to see Obsidian rear up and bring his ebony mace down hard on the magical shield, shattering it.

Without missing a beat, the unicorn charged a bolt of lightning at Applebuck, at the same time slashing wildly at Obsidian. Applebuck was able avoid any major damage by twisting himself so that the bolt hit the leather, but he still felt a sharp tingle reverberate through his body. The shortsword missed Obsidian, who counted himself lucky, until Daggerlot ran out from behind him unwittingly, and took the blow to his face. Daggerlot screamed and writhed on the ground, his forehoof pressed hard against where his eye had been, blood pooling around the area.

The guard that had been hit by the fireball yelled as he charged, the unicorn easily sidestepping him – and right into the trajectory of Obsidian's swing. The mace collided hard with the unicorn's jaw, and the force knocked him onto his side a few feet away. His jaw seemed slightly off center. Applebuck drew his warhammer again, as did Obsidian with his mace, and the guard grabbed his sword from where the unicorn dropped it, and they charged the now-cornered unicorn.

Or so they thought. As they approached him, the unicorn picked himself up, spitting blood onto the ground. His horn flashed, and a large shockwave knocked all three of them back. Applebuck's hammer flew away from him, skipping several yards on the cobblestone road. He glanced back at the unicorn, now enveloped in a golden aura as his wounds were magically healed. Groaning in frustration, he ran to his weapon, biting down on the handle and galloping back into the fight.

Almost immediately he backpedaled, a flaming meteor from the heavens slamming down just in front of him, cracking stone and scorching the ground. Applebuck roared; he hated unicorns and their freaky magic! The heat singed part of his coat, but he ignored it, charging back to where Obsidian and the other guard were dancing around bolts of lightning. He reared up, readying to bludgeon the damn unicorn into submission, when the unicorn flicked his horn, sending a bolt straight into one of the exposed spots in his armor. The jolt coursed through his body, momentarily causing him to seize up.

Before he could react to whatever damage the bolt of lightning did to him, the unicorn hopped onto one forehoof, sweeping Applebuck with an outstretched rear leg. Then, while Applebuck was still falling, swiftly bucked the praefect before landing in an upright position. The knight bounced across the cobblestone before colliding with a large boulder. Groaning, he picked himself up, trying to ignore the bruise forming underneath the leather. The shock from the lightning along with the buck to the face were making him feel dizzy. Forcing himself to stay focused, he returned his gaze to the unicorn. He was still standing on his hind legs, but now had a ball of some ethereal energy forming in between his forehooves. The three knights still standing steeled themselves as the awaited whatever offense the unicorn was planing.

Before he had a chance to release, an iron dagger plunged through his neck, interrupting the powerful spell. Daggerlot, forehoof still pressed against his eye, stepped out from behind him.

"You have committed... crimes against E... Earth and her people. W... what say you in your defense?" the young recruit recited through the pain. He then grabbed the dagger by the hilt, and yanked it out, the momentum pulling the unicorn onto the ground.

No longer in control of the situation, the unicorn writhed on the ground, hooves trying to find a grip on his neck to apply pressure, but the blood caused them to keep slipping. His horn flashed as golden light enveloped the hole in his neck, and part of his skin began to stitch itself back together. Before he could complete the spell however, Daggerlot's namesake smashed into his skull, there was a loud crack!, and his horn snapped off.

The unicorn screamed, gurgling through the blood that had pooled in his mouth. The wound in his neck stopped mending, but the magic had succeeded in removing the mortality of it.

"I surrender!" he cried through blood, as the knights advanced on him. "I surrender!"

Applebuck took no notice of the unicorn's wails of submission, as he turned his attention to the wounded recruit. An obsidian forehoof pressed against Daggerlot's neck, holding him to the ground. The praefect grabbed the dagger and thrust it into one of the braziers outside of Shady Steel's, waiting impatiently as the iron grew hot. As soon as it began to glow, he pulled it out of the burning coals and ran back to Daggerlot. Obsidian forcefully pulled back his hoof, opening the eye to the naked air. A bloody canyon ran through his eye, from his brow down to his jawbone. Applebuck winced at the sight of it, and gritted his teeth as he pressed the glowing blade against the wound. Daggerlot's hisses of pain turned to howls of agony as the skin underneath bubbled and hissed; his body contorted from the pain, but the added efforts of Obsidian helped keep him down as the hot metal did its job. After a few seconds Applebuck drew the dagger away, the canyon in Daggerlot's eye now wielded shut.

Daggerlot whimpered as he lay there, remnants of tears still dripping from his eye. Applebuck, the deed done, turned back to the unicorn cowering near a large boulder, a gentle stream of blood flowing from the gape that was once his horn. He approached the unicorn slowly, taking in the bastard that wounded Daggerlot. He looked to be about Applebuck's own age, perhaps a year or so older. A unique hooded cloak covered his steel blue coat, most of it was made from a blackish material, with the cuffs and a triangular stole dyed a deep red. On the stole was a pictogram, half-sun and half-moon, with a dark hoofprint inside of it. Applebuck also noted the pale yellow of the mane matted with warm blood, and the deep blue eyes of the unicorn; then, as the unicorn pushed himself into a sitting position, twisted on his forehooves and bucked him in the face.

The unicorn's head smacked against the rock, chuckling as he spit out some blood. The praefect pressed a forehoof against his neck, slowly applying pressure. "Come with us peacefully, or I'll buck you again!" Applebuck roared, enunciating the "buck" with a stomp. The unicorn stared at him for a moment before chuckling to himself. Applebuck held the stare, but the expression on the unicorn's face was unreadable, which was pissing him off. He glared at the steel blue stallion under him, then backhoofed him on the nose. His dark blue eyes rolled, and he slumped unconscious. The praefect turned back to his fellow knights, a smug look on his face that disappeared when he saw Obsidian's questioning glare.

"What?" he said defensively, "He looked like he was about to try something." The black stallion just rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly, before snorting in amusement. "You looking for something to do? Take Daggerlot up to medical, now!" Obsidian saluted him, then trotted over to young recruit lay, easing the light green stallion onto his back before cantering further into the fortress. He then turned to the dun colored guard.

"You, state your name and rank!" The guard rose up, sliding into a professional salute, wincing at the burn on his side.

"Auxiliary Steel Heart, sir!" he recited. Applebuck opened one of his pouches with his nose, praying none of the bottles had broken. When he saw that all but one were intact, he grabbed out a healing potion and tossed it to the other pony.

"There's a potion for you. That should take care of your burns." Steel mumbled a "thank you" as he gulped it down. "Go interrogate Shady Steel. That bastard had something to do with this, I know it. When you're done, head over to medical as well."

The auxiliary nodded in confirmation, and glanced at the unconscious unicorn. "What about him?" he asked. Applebuck looked down at him as well, as he answered,

"I'll take him up to the fortress, and give my report to the Chancellor. I need to speak with her anyway."

"Yes sir," he nodded, before disappearing behind the store's door. Applebuck doubted Steel Heart would manage to get anything out of Shady Steel, no one ever did. Still, procedure was procedure, and that was for a reason.

Now alone, everything was quiet, but for the sound of the wind and the crackling of the braziers. Applebuck looked up to the sky, which was partially pale pink and yellow as the Sun entered out of the dawn, and into the day. He sighed.

He nudged the unicorn onto his back, his unconscious body hanging limply off his sides, and began his trot into the fortress of Dun Mare.

This was going to be a long day.


	4. Ambiguity

**Chapter Three**

Ambiguity

_"A discrete and undetected arrival is more often the best policy."_

**~Aurora~**

It was amazing.

That's how Aurora felt about flying. The wind caressing her dark mane, blowing it into the windswept mess that she was so well known for. The light tingle in her wings as the breeze ruffled her pitch feathers. The exhilarating rush of adrenaline when she folded into a dive, or flowed into a barrel roll. The quiet that only existed in such a place as the sky, where she was alone with her thoughts. It was amazing; it was serene.

She straightened her wings, catching an updraft that carried her through a layer of clouds, the mist coating her in a refreshing layer that shielded her from the midday heat. She took a slow breath, enjoying the clarity and purity of the air.

It was peaceful.

Broken from her thoughts, Aurora craned her neck to search the area for a sign of disturbance. She scanned the horizon, and even rolled onto her back to check behind her, but there was nothing. Wierd, she could have sworn she saw something black in her peripheral.

Deciding that it was a mirage, her thoughts turned to the prize hidden within the pouch she wore underneath a wing. It was pure luck that she came across it, just a glint of light out of the corner of her eye. Hoping to come across a good score, she flew down to investigate. She imagined that it might of been a stray gem, dislodged by a traveler and forgotten, or perhaps by a wild animal. Maybe it was the glint of gold, dropped carelessly by a robber who was fleeing capture. Or it could be a cache left abandoned. However, when the pegasus approached the bush in which the shimmering light escaped, she found that it was something much different.

There, lying in the throes of vines was the most beautiful orb Aurora had ever seen. It was moderate in size, about as large as a phoenix egg, but made of some unknown crystal. The center of it shone, varying colors of light illuminating the leaves around it. To Aurora, it almost seemed... alive, as if this strange orb held the soul of some magnificent creature. Immediately she gathered it into her pouch, realizing that this beauty was worth more gold than she had ever seen before.

It was surprisingly light, considering its size. It barely registered as she soared through the sky, its presence betrayed only by the softest of tugs on her skin, and the familiar warmth it emanated.

She burst through the cloud layer, staring in wonder at the picturistic view around her. The light blue sky stretched onward into infinity, illuminated by the majesty of the Sun high above. Underneath her, the soft clouds shifted, their rolling white hills going on and on and on…

But something was wrong.

She could feel it – the world was quiet, no birds enjoying the midday warmth; the swirls of clouds were almost too uniform; the air was still, as if the world around her held a bated breath. But... for what?

She stopped mid-flight, landing softly on a nearby tuft of cloud. Her hooves sunk an inch or so, but her attention was elsewhere. Aurora studied her surroundings, ears flicking to catch telltale sounds and eyes wandering to catch sudden movements. The air was heavy, damp. She sniffed. There was a storm coming, she was sure of it. It was a part of her natural ability to sense oncoming storms, but was that what was bothering her?

Deciding that it would be better to dwell on it as she made headway toward her destination, Aurora spread her wings wide and launched off the cloud, adjusting her position to allow for her package. both wings stiffened as she hit an air pocket, drifting for a time before–

_**BAM!**_

Something black collided with her! At first she thought it was a large bird, until the creature wrapped itself around her. A hard, cold hoof tightened around her throat, cutting off her air as she tried to disorientate herself. The world spun around them, faster and faster as the two pegasi tumbled and fell through the sky. Blues and whites blurred, adding to the disorientation as she attempted to fight back.

Aurora managed to wrap a forehoof around her attacker's, trying to pull it away. Suddenly, he let go. At first she was relieved, until her whole body was whipped around, and then yanked. The suddenness of the motion made her go dizzy, and she felt a peculiar loss of weight. Before she could react, an intense pain jolted through her midsection.

She tumbled through the sky, her vision a blur of whites and blues and greys and greens. Instinctively, her wings snapped open to slow her fall. She stopped for a second, just long enough to feel the fire rage through her muscles, and she instantly began plummeting to the ground once more.

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She was alive!

Oh, thank the gods she was alive!

The first thing that went through her head when Aurora awoke was ecstatic joy that she had survived the fall. How? Who gave a damn! She was alive!

Then the pain hit.

Every muscle in her body was sore. The pulsing soreness was most apparent in her wings and neck, but there was still a hot flame held to her hooves as she tried to push herself up. She collapsed back onto the ground almost immediately, the shock eliciting a sharp grunt of pain.

She just laid there for an unknown amount of time, relief setting in as rest washed away some of the pain. But as the soreness left, it was replaced with weariness. Her eyelids grew heavy as she lay prostrate on the soft grass. Birds chirped precariously as they grew accustomed to her presence, a rustle of leaves and gentle flap of wings as the took back to the sky. A cool winter breeze drifted over her, tenderly mixed with the warmth of the midday sun. She listened to the grass whisper, and the wind whistle. She closed her eyes. Yes, this would be a great place to just... sleep...

Then her head shot up, hissing in pain as her neck muscle was irritated again, as she realized something rather important. Ignoring the pain as her legs and wings disagreed, she jumped up and searched her immediate vicinity. When she saw it wasn't there, the grounded pegasus began to search nearby bushes and shrubs. Damn it! It was gone!

Whoever had attacked her had stolen her bag!

Aurora kicked at the ground, scoring a muddy slash in the dirt, and bucked at an old tree, the birds using it abandoning in a flurry of wings and caws. Her worn muscles began to scream in protest, but at the moment she did not care. She had lost the mysterious orb! it gone, taken from her, all of its worth now benign to her. But that was the least of her problems now. True, the mysterious crystal orb may have been worth a fortune for her, but it was nothing but speculation. How was she to know of its true worth? She could not. There was every chance it was worthless. The orb wasn't the only thing in her pouch. All of her bits were in there, along with healing potions and items of... varying importance.

As of now, Aurora was broke. As of now, she had two choices: She could stay here, surrounded in self-pity and wallowing in misery, or, she could get her ass off the ground and do something!

But what was she to do? Her wings dragged on the ground, marring the primaries with dirt. By now, most of her muscles, while tired, were no longer exhibiting pain, but the muscles running down her wings still burned with a fierce intensity. It was as she feared: whip wing – a condition where a pegasi's wings a lashed backward with extreme force – such as when she tried to slow her descent – possibly tearing muscle. Any movement of her wings incited a burst of pain, and Aurora knew that, however bad it was now, it would be ten times worse tomorrow.

The pegasus knew she would need to find a town soon, where gods willing there would be an alchemist. She would need a silver tongue, given her lack of funds at the moment, but with luck she might be able to charm the pony into giving her a potion or two. Or convince them she was terminal, whichever garnered her more goods.

First things first, before she could unleash her wily charms, Aurora need to find somepony to use them on.

Well, she was... not in a clearing. Trees, bushes, flowers and other assorted foliage covered the landscape. The light was filtered by a canopy of the tallest trees, giving the area a slightly green overtone. There was a break in the treeline, but after some inspection the pegasus found it led to water. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem, she would have just unfurled her wings and took to the sky, but, in her current condition, that was about as likely as the earth ponies and the unicorns making nice.

Opposite the break, however, was a fairly steep bank, the roots of trees and vines covering the face of it. No, she wouldn't be able to climb it. But... hmm... interesting. The vines were rocking, as if in a slow breeze. That in itself wouldn't have been suspicious, if the lengths of grassy rope were blowing to the side. Instead, it looked more like they were being drawn into the rock face, which would only be possible if there were an opening.

Trotting cautiously up, Aurora brushed aside the vines with a black hoof, revealing a generously sized hole in the wall. She had absolutely no idea where it led, and absolutely no reason to believe it led anywhere. It was entirely possible some sort of bear or wolf, or another sort of carnivorous animal was waiting for its lunch to canter on up to it. What reason could she possibly have for placing herself in such a risk?

Oh, right. She was bored. And tired. And wounded. And broke. And just slightly pissed off at being broke. Perhaps a bit more than slightly.

However, before the grounded pegasus had ventured more than a few steps in, she noticed a disturbance on the rock face. Adjacent to the entrance, highlighted only by filtered sunlight reflecting off of moisture condensed over it, was a mark. Upon further inspection, the mark looked more like it had been gouged into the stone. Moss covered the rest of it, and Aurora wiped away the stale green growth, revealing the symbol carved into the stone.

Aurora gasped when she saw it, stealing a quick glance further into the tunnel. No, it didn't matter. She would carry on. The mark was old, so whatever caused the artist to scratch it was possibly gone. That didn't stop a small part of her mind reminding her she left her bow back home.

The mark was a dissected triangle being jammed into a circle.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

It was true!

It was all true! That damn mark was right!

However, which danger the mark alluded to was in question. The pony who carved the image may have etched it because of the possibility of collapse. Apparently, this tunnel was once a mine for mana crystals, however long ago, abandoned and deserted by the workers. Whether it was because the miners drained the deposits of crystal, or because of another reason was still up for question, but one thing was certain: years and years of disrepair and erosion had done no good.

The support beams that were supposed to be holding the tunnel up couldn't possibly have in great condition while the miners worked the mines, and now they were nothing but rotting mold, hollowed out by termites and beetles. Not even a few meters in and part of the ceiling had collapsed, caving in the portal to the outside, and forcing her to move onwards. Here and there Aurora had also found evidence of less recent collapses, some of which even concealed mashed pony skeletons.

The second possible danger was the large black bear that had just barreled her into a boulder, stunning her. The dark pegasus was only trotting casually through the atramentous passage, the only light to guide her way dripping off scattered mana crystals left behind by the miners. Rare enough as they were, and otherwise useless to her, Aurora had begun to shave off some of the magical formations when she remembered that she was no longer in possession of her handy knapsack.

Bummed that she was robbed (both of her possessions and the gold from selling the crystals), she walked off, carrying down the passage and no longer giving thought to the distractions around her. Quickening her pace at the groaning of the rocks overhead, the normally-keen-eyed pegasus completely missed the opening in the rock face, or the giant bear that emerged from it – until its paw connected with her flank. (Of course, Aurora doubted this was the dangered referred to by the mark, mostly because the mark was much older than the bear).

The stone walls shuddered as she fell against them, shaking the dust off the ceiling. Pain blossomed in her rear, and jolted through her wing as it was crushed between a rock and flesh. Dazed by the sudden attack, and numbed by the renewed fire in one of her wings and burning wounds on her flank, it was dumb luck that caused her to fall as the incapacitated pegasus tried to stand up. While she could now add her face to the list of things that hurt, it was a welcome trade to being bear chow as the bear in question missed her, slamming into the cave wall instead.

One of the nearby supports splintered at the impact. A crack resounded through the walls, followed by a shudder as a dust cloud floated down. Aurora's eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen, backpedaling away from the ponicidal bear and the soon-to-collapse cavern wall. The bear didn't, however, continuing its menacing approach unaware of the imminent catastrophe about to befall it.

Aurora wanted to cry out a warning, but her voice was lost in the roar of the beast mingled with the much louder roar coming from above, as the rock ceiling split, pouring boulders and stalactites on the unsuspecting animal. She swore as a large spike of rock smashed through the bear's skull, mercifully killing him instantly.

The carnage didn't stop there, as the maw in the ceiling opened up wider, spilling more of its gravely guts in its attempt to render everything around it into mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes? Aurora didn't realize that she was hungry, but now that she thought about it the last time she ate was before she took flight several hours ago. Mashed potatoes sounded oh so good at the moment–hot, fresh, white pile of heavenly mush, sprinkled with crushed red pepper and served with grilled chopped carrots, all doused in warm butter...

A tantalizingly succulent version of what she was going to become if she didn't get out!

Aurora continued to backpedal away from the destruction raging toward her. It was apparent that this collapse had been building up inside the weakened rock for a long time, just waiting for the opportune moment and the right straw to fall in order to break this pony's back. There was no way all of this came from one support beam shattering.

The falling chunks of stone were advancing on her faster than she was moving, and she needed to do something quick if she was to escape this alive! Aurora decided on sacrificing time for speed. The pegasus halted for a moment, just long enough to twist back into a standing position. The cave-in did not heed her need for a time-out, and raged onwards; Aurora broke into a gallop just as a boulder larger than her flattened the area where she was just standing.

The race only lasted a few minutes, before a large slab of craig collapsed, its shear size able to support the surrounding walls and countering the oncoming torrent. The shock rattled the cave, prying dirt and an odd assortment of small rocks and stones off the adjacent surfaces.

Aurora continued galloping for a short stretch, slowing down her canter. She took a few more steps in, then promptly fell over. A pained grunt as she landed on her wing, a slight adjustment off of the appendage. Breathe in, breathe out.

Never again, Aurora thought to herself, never again.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

Unfortunately, with the danger of another cave-in lingering everywhere, Aurora could not stop to rest. She would have to wait until she got out of this underground nightmare.

On the contrast, the mare did discover some fortune in where she ended up. With only one way to go, Aurora didn't have much say in where to go, and so pressed onward. Much to her surprise, the dim blue light of the mana veins gave way to a much more vibrant yellow that signalled the path of torches that lay up ahead.

The source of the light were several lit candles outlining a small alcove dug into the rock face. The candles were almost burned out, only a few inches of hardened wax left for the fire to melt. The lights were arranged around a wooden chest, sitting on old, wrought iron pedestals of varying sizes.

After checking the base of the chest for traps, Aurora cautiously opened the lid. She couldn't believe her luck. Inside were a few potions and armor! She pulled out the armor first. It was a leather cuirass, but she tossed that aside for now. There was something the wounded pegasus required much more at the moment. With the bulk of the armor out of the way, she dug out the potions and began examining them.

Damn it! Not a single healing potion; there were two small, green stamina potions, and one medium-sized magicka potion, but no red healing potions!

Aurora kicked the chest in frustration, rewarded for her effort with a newly sore hoof. The wounds on her flank burned in response. The only good thing that came from opening the chest was the leather armor. The magicka potions were completely useless for a pegasus like her, and at the moment she wasn't fatigued. Still, both could be sold for gold. Aurora turned her attention instead to the leather cuirass she procured.

It was in good condition, and it was full-body covering. It took her a minute to slip into it. The armor was made for a male, and so it sagged loosely on her. She winced as it rubbed against the gashes. Sliding it back off, Aurora used a simple iron dagger previously hidden by the armor to tear off the rear part of the armor, using the excess leather to refit it more to her liking. When she shrugged it on the second time, the leather fit more tightly, which presented the second problem.

It wasn't designed for pegasi. However, Aurora didn't want to risk ruining any more of the armor's integrity, and so resolved herself to suffer. What was she to expect from a random clothing of armor she just happened to find in a chest? That it would be magically fit to her body structure? It was however beneficial, in that the tight grip on her wings acted as a sort of sling, relieving the pressure on her already sore muscles.

As she rounded the corner, the rock walls opened up into a larger hall, where her path ended on an overhang overlooking the hollow.

A waterfall emptied into a small lake opposite her, a wooden bridge connecting two shores perpendicular to her position. The floor of the cavern was, at most, a ten to fifteen foot drop from where the wounded pegasus lay. It shouldn't have been a problem, just a hop, skip, and a jump into the water, assuming it wasn't too shallow. What stopped her, however, was the voices she heard. There was a flicker of movement, and Aurora could see a shadow move on the adjacent wall.

"What if somepony wanders in here?" one of them questioned. The other one groaned in aggravation before answering gruffly,

"Nopony's gonna come in here. Why would they? The mine's been abandoned for divines' know how long. Blade set up that rock trap near the entrance, an' Cleaver is up on guard duty outside. Now, shut up or get out an' let me get some damn sleep!" Now that was useful information. With the two ponies underneath, and including the named Cleaver and Blade, that was a total of four to go through. Cleaver was apparently outside, so that lowered the ratio to three to one, but those were still dangerous odds, especially seeing as she was not in possession of a weapon.

"What's got you so tired, huh? It's the middle of the damn day!" the first one continued, either unaware or uncaring of his ally's growing hostility. Maybe with luck they would kill each other, leaving an opening for Aurora to take.

"I was up all bloody night doing a raid with Soul an' Blackthorn. Now, go bother Blade at the forge, or I'm gonna bother my knife into your neck." It appeared that was the end of their conversation. With it brought more unsettling information. Two other ponies were mentioned, Soul and Blackthorn, bumping the total up to six to one. Assuming that the other two were as tired as the second pony, and Cleaver stayed at his post outside, then that brought it back down to three to one. Assuming is what gets one killed.

Also, something the tired pony said bother Aurora. If he was out raiding, then that would make him a bandit, which would make this entire group a team of bandits, and that made things worse. Bandits were a bunch of unruly bastards, having absolutely no code of ethics. They raided wherever they wanted, whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They saw no problem in killing another pony for gold, and had no concept of the idea of subtlety.

There was a shuffling sound below her as the second bandit wrapped himself in his makeshift sleeping bag. The first one came into view as he made his way across the bridge, presumably towards Blade. The stallion's dark hide was covered by a set of ironically-named hide armor, a more simplistic and unvaluable version of the leather armor she was wearing at the moment. A blunt iron sword was strapped to his back, and an indiscernible dagger hung off his shoulder. The pounding of his hooves slowly faded as he disappeared further into the mine.

With the one gone, and the other asleep, the only hinderance to Aurora's escape was the distance to the ground. Being a pegasus, this would normally not be a problem, but with her wings out of commission this was no longer the case. She would need to find a way down that was quiet, and she wouldn't require her wings. She peered over the edge of the outcrop, looking down at the body of water. It would be safe to land in it, but the splash would alert the bandits nearby. Would she be fast enough to escape them though, should that be the case? Aurora decided that she didn't want to risk it if there was another way.

She turned back the way she came. Somepony left a chest with items, most likely to be used by the miners, so the tunnel she came from was meant for a purpose. There was only one exit, apart from the opening she sat by, but it didn't seem sound to not have a secondary exit, in case of a cave-in. The hole she sat in couldn't possibly be used by earth ponies, not unless they were expected to jump into the lake every time, which while possible was extremely unlikely. There had to be another passage, one that all ponies could traverse to get from up here to down there.

Unless... she was going about it the wrong way. The main sector of the mine was down there, and whomever worked down there would need an escape route in case of the not-so-hypothetical cave-in. More than likely there was already an escape route at the other end of the mine, but just having one would be ridiculously risky, just tempting fate. There had to have been a secondary route to the surface, but what if she was in it? If this tunnel she found was the secondary (or even primary) escape route, then there would have to be a passage connecting the two. Aurora needed to find some sort of lever, or pressure plate that would open the hidden tunnel.

The walls shuddered, more dirt cascading onto her coat and armor, and a deep rumble echoed through the tunnels. Apparently the storm she sensed earlier had come.

Traveling back to the alcove, Aurora scoured the shadows for a trigger of some kind. Examining the wall opposite the chest revealed an outline of a door disguised as rock, but there was no way to open it. She should have expected that – the miners would not want anypony sneaking in, so of course the lever was on the side only the miners could access. Well damn.

Aurora glanced at the overhang. There was no choice; she would have to chance it and hope she could outrun them. Then there was the bandit standing guard outside, although if she took him by surprise she could gallop past him hopefully before he could hinder her. Her wings itched and her flank burned at the thought of all that running. She looked back over the edge, and down at the water below.

"Kill him if he talks to me like that again... get him while he's sleeping... or poison his meat, see if he likes it," murmured the half-asleep bandit. There was a shuffle as he rearranged himself in his sleeping bag.

Well, it was now or never. Aurora back up a few steps, cantered forward, and jumped. For a moment she was airborne once more, and her wings ached to be unfolded. Or perhaps they were just aching from the strain. Whichever it was, she was only in the air for a second before she hit the water. With all the luck in the world, just as she broke the surface there was a loud crash and the sound of somepony swearing from just outside.

The water was freezing, shocking her as she pushed herself to the surface. However, that was nothing to the shock when her wounds were exposed to the dirty, cold water, sending an ice-like fire through her rear. When she broke through, she scampered under the bridge. With a modest amount of luck, that racket covered up her arrival. Otherwise, this was a grave mistake.

"What in Tartarus?" came the voice of the previously asleep stallion. "What was that?" There was a rustle of cloth as he removed himself from his bed, and the unmistakable sound of him unsheathing a weapon. The sound of hooffalls signalled another entering the cavern. "Is that you Cleaver? Why ain't ya outside? An' what the bloody hell was that racket!"

A new voice reached under the bridge. "Can't you hear the thunder? It's pouring out there, and I'm not standing guard while it's pouring. Go back to sleep you irritable codger!" the one called Cleaver yelled at the elder bandit. He didn't seem to take to kindly to being called an "irritable codger".

"What did ya say to me? I'd cut your throat for that, if you weren't Blackthorn's brother. An' what was that racket? You do that?"

"Yeah, that was me you insufferable git. I tripped Blade's trap; it's dark as night in there 'cause somepony went and removed all them torches!" Cleaver growled.

"Ah course I removed 'em, it's bright as day with 'em there, an' I'm trying to sleep!" the old one barked back.

"Then go back to sleep! You ungrateful bastard; lucky if I don't slit your throat..." Cleaver added the last part under his breath as he walked away, his hoofsteps leading deeper into the mine, following the path the other bandit took. The old one mumbled curses and threats under his breath as he crawled back into his sleeping bag.

This was a prime example of why Aurora loathed bandits. However, she could ruminate on the uncouth behavior of these uncivilized rogues later. With Cleaver gone, leaving the entrance unguarded, and the other sleeping, now was a prime chance to take her leave.

Slowly she raised herself out of the cavern lake, going step by step so as to not alert the dozing bandit. There were numerous but quiet splashes as excess water drained onto the rock below, but crouching low to the ground seemed to help rectify that. The cold stone was like frozen ice to her wet hooves, the inconspicuous chill in the air now much more tangible. Her flank still burned with a cold fury, numbed slightly by the cool air, and the leather armor had gained a few pounds of water that would take an excessive amount of sunlight to dissipate.

Eventually she made to the tunnel leading to the exit, and just as Cleaver had said, all of the torches were either blown out or removed. Being a pegasus, this did not hinder her movement by much, adjusting to different levels of light one of the avian abilities adopted by her kind.

Aurora found the rock trap mentioned before, the one that had been tripped. Several rocks ranging in size from as big as her head to a few large boulders littered the ground, having fallen from a wooden chute above. The trigger lay on the ground – a thin rope, easily missed and easily broken. The one called Cleaver was lucky he wasn't killed.

Not far from the pile of rocks, up a small slope, and through wooden double doors was the outside. Just as the bandit said, the rain was pouring hard. The had grown a dark grey, filtering the sun through layers upon layers of cumlionimbus. There was a flash of light, signaling the roar that followed shortly after. The only shelter at the moment was the small, little roof that housed the entrance to the mine below.

Free from the storm for now, Aurora observed where she was. The grass was lush, sectioning off juts of rock that escaped the ground, and was host to a multitude of bushes and flowers. From where she sat, Aurora could see various mountain flowers, Dragon's Tongue, and if she was right, snowberries. Numerous conifers clouded the landscape, offering shelter to the families of birds and rabbits.

What stuck out to her most was the thing she had been most hoping she'd find; down a worn dirt path that had once led to the mine, across a bridge, was the ground-colony of Nimbustall. While the pegasus was not a fan of getting her feathers wet, the warning burn in her flanks convinced her to move on in the rain towards the civilization.


	5. Before the Storm

**Chapter Four **

Before the Storm

_"What was that?"_

**~Skyfall~**

Silver magic wrapped around one of the spokes on the wheel, ever so slightly turning this way and that, guiding the enormous airship along its projected course. Likewise, multiple ribbons of the same silver energy tugged and pulled on various ropes and pulleys, working alongside eachother as though they were mimicking a sentient crew. More, hidden beneath the hull, manipulated the rudders, all working in conjunction with eachother towards their one goal.

"You work this entire ship by yourself?" I asked the blue stallion beside me. He took a gander at his handiwork before acknowledging my question.

"Well, essentially yes," he said, turning back to me. "More specifically, I cast a rather extensive 'come-to-life' spell – oh, don't give me that look, it's self-explanatory," he interjected in response to the look I gave him, (the look that I would later adopt as my "I don't know what you're talking about" glare. With Bronze Nut constantly divulging into his wealthy expanse of knowledge, I became rather good at it).

"The magic analyzes the knowledge in my mind on how this ship works, and applies it to the ship itself. Because I was there supervising the entire time they were building her, I know every nook and cranny of this ship, and by extension so does my magic, working as a proxy to a normal crew. Actually, I'd go as far to say it works better than a crew; no clashing personalities to have to fight with and all that drama."

"That's... rather spectacular."

"Hmm? Ah, yes I suppose it is." Silence descended on us once more as we floated through the clouds. Winds whistled as they grew stronger, and I followed a few of the silver motes as they adjusted to the change. I could hear the ship groan quietly as it moved. Bronze Nut shuffled beside me,but I didn't pay much notice to it until I heard his signature "Hmm...". He was looking out at the horizon, where a mass of clouds were gathering.

"What's that?" I asked, startling him out of his stupor.

"What is what?"

"Out there; those dark clouds."

"Oh, that's just a storm brewing. Shouldn't bother us though, it's way out of our trajectory," he answered before turning away. Something didn't sit right with me, the aged unicorn seemed too interested in what was out there for it to be "just a storm". And so I found myself staring out at the growing mass of clouds, intent on discovering what it was that Bronze Nut found so enthralling. At first, I saw nothing out of the ordinary, just the swirling grey masses. Then –

"What was that?" I blurted, causing Bronze Nut to perk up. He glanced at me, then followed my gaze out to where the storms were gathering.

"Did you see something, lad?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what. It was there for a second, then gone," I replied. The both of us continued to stare out into the horizon. I wasn't even entirely sure what I saw was real. It could have been easily a mirage.

"What did you see?" he asked intently.

"I, well... I'm not sure. It was like some sort of green flash out in the distance. Around where that storm is." Now that I said it out loud, it occurred to me that the flash could have been lighting. It seemed rather obvious in hindsight, that a flash of light in the midst of a storm should evidently be lightning.

"Hmm... how curious," he stated simply. It took me by surprise that the elder unicorn didn't take my sighting for lightning. Something about it had intrigued him, and now I was determined to know the significance.

"I'm sorry, but what's curious?" I said as I turned back to face him. He continued staring out as he replied, eyes narrowed and focused on the spot I pointed out to him.

"Well, if one were to see a flash of light in a storm cloud, I would certainly assume that it was lightning," he said slowly, stroking his white beard with a blue hoof. Something in his tone of voice told me that he didn't agree with this natural assumption like I did. He continued, "But, you say it was green?" turning to me for confirmation. When I nodded my head, he merely hummed in thought. I gave him a few minutes for his silent musing before I broke his concentration.

"Does that mean anything?" I asked him.

He snapped his head in my direction. "What? Oh, yes... yes I suppose it does... possibly..." He went back to staring off into space.

I groaned in exasperation and let my head droop. I learned to tell when he was lost in thought, because he would cease whatever it was he was doing, and stare off into some random direction completely oblivious to everything around him, all the while stroking his beard. I waited for a minute or so, hoping that he would break away and actually answer a question without giving me more questions that needed answering!

When it appeared that he wasn't going to, I sighed and moved toward the starboard side. I watched a cloud float by, sending a chill through me as the moisture clothed my coat. Out into the distance I could see an enormous mountain rising, as if the world was a bedsheet and somepony had pulled up a part of it as high as it could go, its apex only visible because I too was above the clouds. About midway down the mountain, still a generous height above the ground, was a conglomeration of white and gold spires and towers growing out of the side.

To the West was an exuberant patch of clouds, grouped too close together to have been natural. From here I could see small falls of rainbow pouring off the edge, disintegrating before reaching the ground beneath. I could only assume this was a pegasus settlement. Underneath the colossal of clouds was a large, silver spire towering above the land around it, rising high enough to disappear into the white wad of clouds.

"What are those out there?" I asked, with turning away from the spectacle.

"Hm?" was all I got in reply before my companion broke out of his reverie. My ear twitched and followed a set of hoofsteps and jingling brass walking over to me. When he figured out what had caught my fancy, "Ah, yes. Such a wondrous sight. Not many but the pegasi get to enjoy something like this, and not many pegasi travel this far from their homes."

"Well, look who finally woke up. I thought you had fallen asleep back there," I jested with a thin smile on my face. Bronze Nut acknowledged it with a warm chuckle.

"Sorry about that, lad. The mind of an old stallion like me tends to run away at times. What were you asking now?"

"I wanted to know what those two places were," I replied, pointing out the city on the mountainside and the large tower.

"Ah, those are two of the three capitals in Equestria."

"Three?" I blurted, before remembering that there were three provinces in the country, and that each one would need their own capital.

"Yes, three. One for each of the provinces." Like I said. "That one there on the mountain is Canterlot, capital of Unicornia. It also houses the leading institute of magic, The University of Canterlot," he said, flourishing the name with wonderment.

"And what of the tower?"

"That's the ground section of Cloudsdale, capital of Pegasopolis. The clouds above it are the actual city, but you can't see much of it from this distance."

The whole of the ship rocked slightly as another breeze swept through, dragging the cold air along with it. I shivered involuntarily as the cold bit me hard, and wished that my coat was thicker. Apparently the unicorn next to me read minds as well. I wondered if that's a spell I could learn... would've been damned useful in hindsight.

"Argh, damn my old mind," he reprimanded himself, "I should've thought to offer you something warm to wear, lad; it tends to get bloody cold up here, and being a breath away from winter will make it all the more worse as the days pass." He motioned to follow him with a blue hoof, and led me back down into the depths of the ship.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

Where before he brought me to the galley (as I learned it was called), this time we took a right instead of a left, and down a corridor or two into a room filled with shelves, crates, chests, and wardrobes. Most everything was covered in dust, but for a generous amount of the floor where we walked. All but two of the chests were left open, allowing passersby and potential thieves to see the invaluable emptiness of their contents.

The wardrobes seemed to be the only furniture used, having the smallest layers of dust coating the bunch. It was one of these that he led me to, silver magic wrapping around the handle and tugging open the old wooden door. Inside were several folded garments of varying designs, ranging from simple cloth to embroidered silk. Some of them seemed to have a faint, glowing outline to them, if looked at from just the right direction.

It was one of these that Bronze Nut pulled out. It was one of the layered pieces, a brownish-red colored undershirt with a frayed grey collar, covered over by a thicker faded blue wool coat, with a sort of diamond pattern stitched in. Keeping it in place was a leather belt wrapped around my waist.

Instantaneously I felt a warmth flow through me, expelling the cold air. It was like I was laying beside a fire, only portable.

"Whew, what was that?" I breathed.

Bronze Nut raised an eyebrow. "You seem very fond of the question."

"Fond of... what? Oh... ha ha." He suppressed his own chuckle at my expense before answering my previous question.

"That set, amongst others, was enchanted with a petty level fire enchantment, along with greater resistance to counter the –" he stopped, taking in the look I was giving him. "– It is enchanted to warm you," he simplified. "You know, if you wish to ever become more than just a novice at the arcane arts, there are basics you will need to master, and enchanting is only one of them," he said simply. It sounded like an observation, but the way he said it made it seem like he was reprimanding me.

I merely grunted in response; I knew he was right, I would eventually have to learn all of this new magic stuff, but not right now. This was just a little too sudden for my tastes, and I was still adjusting to the idea of not having a past.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, "I'm sorry, lad. I'm pushing you too hard too fast. I used to teach at the University you know, I supposed part of that rubbed off on me."

"Why did you stop?"

"Oh, various reasons," he answered solemnly. I knew he was going to avoid answering, but I figured I should have asked anyway. Bronze Nut wasn't very open about his past, or at least, the specifics of his past.

Another silence descended in the halls as we made our way back up through the ship. It was me who broke it first.

"So, what were you saying about the tower? The one below Cloudsdale?"

"Not much to say about it; It's called the Tower of Harmony, and it was built the first years here by all three tribes, as a sort of peace offering to eachother. That's where they signed the Entente of Harmony, named for the tower."

By now we had reached the large doors that opened onto the deck. The chilled air bit at my face (mostly my nose), but it wasn't too harsh, and the enchanted coat I was wearing certainly helped to persuade away the cold. We walked over to the edge of the starboard again, looking back at the monumental tower in the distance. It had grown farther away since we went below, and now a forest backed by a mountain range had appeared around it, blocking most of it from view.

"I assume that was the peace treaty?"

"Yes, and I might add that it is rather common knowledge. It would certainly alarm me if one was to not know of the Entente of Harmony."

"And why is that?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Well, with the changelings about, you can never be too careful, lad." There was that word again, 'changeling'. It must of been of some importance, and I was sure I would need to know what they were. I can honestly say, having that sort of a thought process, especially naturally, was rather unsettling. Not even knowing what I would and would not be require to have knowledge of only served to upset my stomach, and I could feel a familiar sinking feeling welling back up.

"What are changelings? I've heard you mention them before."

"Changelings are... well, monster is probably the best word for them, even if not accurate. Calling them dangerous would be harsh, but they're not exactly friendly to most ponies. Would you rather finish this conversation in the galley, lad? I only brought you up here because you were curious how I was able to magically run this ship, but, well, now that that's settled..."

I nodded in agreement. "Sure." I was getting bored of being topside myself; there really wasn't much to do, other than follow the silver motes of light working the ropes and pulleys, or watching the landscape slowly waltz by.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

When we reached the familiar room, the unicorn disappeared behind the counter for a moment, returning with a basket of assorted fruits, although most were apples. When he returned I regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"So this is why you wanted to come back down?"

Bronze Nut hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm... possibly." He released his magical aura, and the basket dropped onto the table before us with a dull thunk. "It's nearing midday, and I forgot to eat breakfast because of your unexpected arrival." My eyebrow raised slightly higher at that, but he just waved it away with his hoof. "Besides, I daresay you'll be hungry yourself; You haven't eaten since this morning either."

I wasn't sure how much truth there was to that. True, I haven't ingested anything but cider since... but I didn't feel hungry. Still, the red and yellow apple he brandished at me looked tasty, so I took him up on his offer.

I held out a hoof for him to drop the apple into, but he just sort of stared at it, a small frown on his face. Finally he relinquished it, and the sweet sugars invading my mouth when I took a bit of it proved him right. I was hungry.

He too picked out an apple from the basket, but didn't eat it quite yet. It was almost disturbing watching him contemplate me while I ate. I stopped mid-chew, swallowing what was left in my mouth as I stared back at him. "... What?"

"Nothing," he replied, taking a bite out of his apple. "I'm just not accustomed to seeing a unicorn not using magic."

"Well, I'm sorry that my inability to use magic troubles you so," I breathed out fast, harsher than I should have been, or perhaps just enough.

"I've done well letting you off, with your attitude certainly being understandable because of your incident, but I will have you observe manners that are due to me in my presence!" I reeled back, surprised at his outburst, but I returned back to the field ready to lay into him without a viable cause, my pride rearing.

Before I could open my mouth however, he cut me off. "You are but a guest, a foal at that, and I am both your host and your elder." He rose up, both hooves on the table, pushing himself above me as I feel flat onto my back. "And I will not have you demeaning me on my own ship!"

"I'm sorry, I was just... I, uh... yeah... sorry. I'm sorry," I babbled.

"I understand you are going through something rather difficult, and I won't speak under the pretense of knowing how you feel. Perhaps I shouldn't have been as harsh as I was, so I'll ask you to forgive me on that, but my request still stands, lad. Now, let us put this behind us, and continue on the matter we were to discuss upon coming here." He held out a hoof, and for the second time that day he pulled me off the floor of the galley.

"On the previous subject, however: in my library I have a personal collection of what should be every spell tome out there. Perhaps later you and I could peruse some of them?"

"Every spell tome?"

"Why yes, lad. Quite an astounding collection, if I do say so myself; I'm quite proud of it."

"... Sure, sounds like a plan," I said, to which he nodded in agreement. "Now," I started, bringing the conversation back to the subject he was telling me about before we descended back down into the ship. "You were telling me about the changelings."

"Ah, yes quite right. And what was it I had said about them, lad?"

"You said something about them being a danger to ponies."

"Yes, right. I myself have had dealings with them in the past, but to most travelers they can be a very great hinderance, although most ponies never see them."

"And why is that?" I asked, finishing off the apple and reaching for a second. The skin was bitter, and the flesh was a little sour, but it wasn't bad.

"Changelings reside in the deepest recesses of Equestria, and are astoundingly protective of their hives. There are very few hives that exist on the surface, but most are crafted farther underground than most ponies are willing to travel. They only time they seem to surface is around Hearts and Hooves Day."

"And what is Hearts and Hooves Day?"

Bronze Nut took another bite of his apple before answering. "It is a holiday observed by most of the country. It started several decades ago; a famous scandal that involved our own Unicorn King, before his daughter took his place on the throne."

"We have a Unicorn King?"

"Yes, before he stepped down and ceded the throne to Princess Platinum, the current ruler of Unicornia."

"What happened to him?"

The blue unicorn pulled the basket back over to himself, grabbing a pale green apple and taking a generous bite of it. "A love potion, or more accurately a love poison." He stood up, brandishing two identical pewter tankards with his magic, and filling them up with a fresh, golden liquid. He set one of them next to me, and I took a sip out of it to wash away some of the bitterness from the apple skin.

"The King found himself a mare that he favored, but wasn't sure she shared his feelings. True, as king that wouldn't have mattered, but The King decided that he would only have her if she loved him back. So, he sought the advice of one of his court, who led him to a zebra –"

I choked on some of my cider. "Zebra? Sorry, I really shouldn't be surprised at this point."

"No, you really shouldn't," he agreed with a warm chuckle. "Zebras, while rare to find in Equestria, come from a arid land a ways away from here. Some come to this country as nomads, filling their caravans with goods to trade, and travel around selling to all. They've also scrounged up a rather poor reputation for themselves, being known to act as fences for thieves. Ponies have a tendency to look down on them for it."

"What about you?"

"I've met many who have earned their reputation, and I've met many who have risen above it." He took a generous gulp out of his mug before continuing. "Now, the zebra offered him a way to ensure that the prince and his princess – this was before he was king, mind you. To become king he required a queen to rule at his side, some political nonsense I don't want to get into right now. So, the zebra gave him a potion that would ensure the mare would love him forever, and The King took it without a second thought.

"He called the mare to his banquet hall, where the two were to have a private dinner served by the most esteemed chefs in his kitchens. It was elaborate, it was grand. It was... you know, kingly. Whatever the mare desired was prepared, and everypony worked on The King and his muse's whim. Including the drinks. The King had given the order to his personal chef to prepare the beverages with the addition of the potion he received. That was when things began to roll downhill.

"At first the results were subtle, possibly due to it being diluted in their wines, but the effect worked its way out. The two were consumed by eachother: the one never leaving the other's side, always distracted when their better half was there, and distraught when their were gone. Eventually it apotheosized with both unable to even look away from eachother." He paused to finished off his mug, and start on his third apple, I myself polishing off a second.

"The kingdom couldn't have fared well during that," I said.

"Oh, not at all," he concurred. "With the King indisposed, the kingdom began to collapse. The lords fought constantly over their own agendas, and what they wanted the kingdom to become. That wasn't the worst of it, though." He paused for a moment, and I could only assume it was for dramatic effect. "The mare he wooed was a changeling." He said this slowly, savoring the look on my face.

It was obvious Bronze Nut relished this opportunity to delve into story-telling. I can't imagine when the last time he had an audience was, but I'd guess it wasn't yesterday. Once more that sinking feeling punched me in the stomach. Yesterday. I wasn't even here yesterday, I didn't even exist then. However old my body was, I had only existed for several hours. What was yesterday like?

I imagined the Captain on the bow of his ship, staring out into the distance stoically, contemplating. What was life like for him yesterday? I could only imagine he was alone. Did the Captain have friends? Possibly. Maybe. He said to call him "The Captain", because that was everypony's moniker for him. But, now that I thought about it, his words were, "most people call me 'The Captain'". If that was the case, then one could say the Captain had friends. But, did Bronze Nut have friends?

The elder stallion's eyes drilled into me, his smile melting as he noticed my change in demeanor. "Is there something wrong, lad?"

I snapped back to reality at his words. "Oh! No, nothing," I smiled awkwardly. He eyes continued to burrow deeper, clearly not believing me. "You mentioned her being a changeling?"

"Hmm. Yes, yes I did. So it appeared the the mare he fell in love with was in fact a changeling; and not just any changeling: A changeling queen." His tone gave the appearance of having cast aside the distraction, but he would occasionally glance at me, eyebrows furrowed and pupils digging into mine as he tried to read my mind.

"That certainly caused an upset in the nobles. It didn't help matters when her hive came looking for her, either. They thought their queen was kidnapped and – well, it was a mess. The nobles believed the magic was the changeling's doing, and the changelings blamed the royal court. It might have even devolved into war if the court mage had not intervened and discovered a way to break the enchantment. Unfortunately, for the King, it was too late." the stallion's silver eyes hardened, and his expression grew somber with those words.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, putting down my near-empty mug.

Bronze Nut sighed. "They did not call it love 'poison' because it had a nice ring to it. Love is a matter of the mind, and prolong exposure to the potion can have serious repercussions. When the King was relieved of the effects, we realized that his mind was... he wasn't completely sane anymore. Gone was his affection for the mare who once enthralled him, now replaced by a burning anger. He blamed her for what happened, that her changeling magic was the cause. With the court the only ponies who knew the specifics of what happened, the rest of his subjects corralled around him. To avoid a greater confrontation, the queen and her hive fled."

"And she wasn't affected by the poison?" I asked, confused on more than one point. Such was a risk when conversing with the old stallion.

"Oh, that's right; I was just explaining changelings. Before I manage to canter off onto another tangent: Changelings are a unique species because they feed off of emotions, particularly love." Bronze Nut removed himself from the table, opting to refill our tankards with more home-brewed cider. I was beginning to wonder exactly how healthy consuming this much cider was, but at a glance there didn't appeared to be any other drink taps.

I rolled an apple in between my hooves. "How does something feed off of love?"

At this he chuckled, bringing up the second mug to the tap as he set down the first. "Do not tempt me, lad, or we'll be here 'till sunrise tomorrow –" his head snapped up "– Oh! Speaking of which..." He closed his eyes, and the glow around his horn intensified. I continued batting the apple around, mulling over whether to eat a third. I hung my head and sighed, wondering how long he would be out of it this time.

Fortunately it was only a few seconds. The glow from his horn ceased, only to reignite fast enough to catch the mug he dropped. "Good, we've still plenty of time."

"Plenty of time for what?" I frowned as a thought occurred to me. "Where are we going?"

He passed back the dull tin tankard, now full with golden cider. "To the Arch-Mage, whom will hopefully be able to apprentice you." He sat down, taking a sip of his drink and a bite of his apple before continuing. "We'll be nearing her cottage in but a few hours, plenty of time for me to train you in some basic magic."

I tossed the apple core into the basket, pushing myself out of the old, wooden seat. "So... shall we get started?"

The elder unicorn chuckled heartily as he followed suit. "It is nice to see you showing some enthusiasm. Follow me to my library, and let us see what you can learn within our allotted time."

We left the familiarity of the galley, and I followed the blue stallion down numerous wooden corridors that, all together, should not have been able to fit inside the entirety of the ship. As we trecked through the bowels of the monstrous craft, I began to dwell on our destination: the Arch-mage. True, it was painfully obvious that I wasn't going to spend my life aboard this ship with Bronze Nut, but in the last few hours that life was all I had known. The idea of actually leaving the airship, and embarking on my own quest in Equestria scared me more than I would have admitted.

To distract myself, I let my mind drift to my future with this Arch-mage, and what it would be like under her tutelage. it was in that moment a thought occurred to me. It wasn't a pleasant thought, and the idea sent a cold shiver down my spine and into my gut, freezing it into a weighty block of ice that I wanted nothing more than to throw up. "B... Bronze Nut?" I choked out.

"Yes, lad?"

"W... what should I tell her my name is?" I said slowly. At this the unicorn froze.

"Oh... oh dear." He mumbled something to himself, possibly several curses in another tongue, before he turned to me, the light from his horn throwing his face into sharp relief. "Well, it certainly won't do to have you wandering around without a name now will it?" He coughed into his hoof. "Do you... have any suggestions?"

I shook my head; at the moment I was feeling rather inept about pony nomenclature, possibly stemming from the fact that the only pony name I was aware of was Bronze Nut's.

"Well..." For the first time since meeting him (which wasn't saying much) Bronze Nut's face went blank. He stared at me hard, making me rather uncomfortable, for a short time before gesturing to the old wooden ceiling above us. "Sky..." He then brought his hoof slowly down until he pointed at me. "... fall."

I stared back at him for a second, then deadpanned. "Sky... fall? Skyfall? You're naming me after how I arrived on your ship?" I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Oi! Don't look at me like that; I was never good at crafting names, that's why I let my wife name our children," he said with a chuckle.

"You have a wife?" I was quite frankly surprised. Despite his age, I had figured he had no spouse, primarily drawing this conclusion because I had never seen a portrait of any mare aboard his ship. Then again, I had never been to his quarters.

The stallion's face grew very melancholy. "I... I did." Oh. Well, damn good job, Skyfall! Congratulations on being tactless with the one and only pony you know!

"I'm sorry," I offered. Bronze Nut waved it off.

"It is fine, lad. She's been... gone a long time, and I've had plenty of years to come to terms with her passing," he said, giving me a reassuring smile.

"And... your children?" I asked, biting my lower lip. He nodded somberly. "Oh."

"It's been a while, lad – Skyfall," he corrected, tasting my new name on his tongue. It was weird being addressed with an actual name, but I had to admit it was much better than not having one. "Like I said, I've had years to get over it, and I would rather not dwell on it. Come on, we're not far from the library."

I followed him in silence, and neither of us spoke again until we reached his library.

(\_.^\_.^\_.^\_-/(_)\-_/^._/^._/^._/)

Three hours later, as the sun began to slowly fall back towards the horizon, we arrived at our destination, or more accurately my destination.

During those three hours, which had gone by faster than I had hoped, I managed to learn telekinesis, alongside the basics of the novice healing spell Lesser Heal, and the novice destruction spell Flames. Bronze Nut found my learning curve to be fascinating, telling me that a normal unicorn spent weeks mastering novice spells, whereas I had learned them in the expanse of mere hours. When I questioned him about it, he assured me that it fit in with his theory about my predicament; I, however, felt there was more to it than he let on.

We landed on the shore, near the edge of the mountain range I saw earlier. According to the Captain, the Arch-mage lived on the outskirts of the mountain, but close enough that his airship could not land there. She lived in a cottage not far from where we landed, and he gave me directions to a path that led there.

Now all that was left was to say goodbye.

That left us standing beside eachother awkwardly, staring out at the massive jut of rock in front of us. It was miniscule compared to the mountain Canterlot rested on, but still intimidating in its own right.

"Well... thanks for the, er, lift. And for teaching me magic."

"You're welcome, lad."

"And, I guess this is goodbye?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere along the path, perhaps sooner than later," he said ominously.

"Um... sure," I replied. I stared at the gangplank the Captain had laid out, working up the courage to move. Bronze Nut held up a hoof, signaling his intention to speak.

"I don't mean to be brash, but I get this feeling, lad, that you've been brooding over your predicament. Somehow, you believe, that you've just... popped into existence! That you have no past to recollect. Am I close?"

I sighed and nodded my head; there was no point in denying it. "Yeah. Pretty close."

Bronze Nut put a hoof on my chin, and lifted my face up level to his eyes, giving me a sober grin. "You do. You have a past, as you pointed out earlier. The hard part is is that your memories have not been erased, they have been obliterated. You do have a past, just as you have a present, and will have a future. The question now is: Will you spend the future dwelling on the past, or spend the present dwelling on the future?"

I had no answer to that, so I just stood there, the wind blowing my mane into my face. I felt the wind; it was softer, warmer down here than up in the atmosphere, comforting. It was warm enough that I no longer needed the fine clothes Bronze Nut had given me. My magical aura (which was the same gold color as my eyes) enveloped the suit, removing it layer by layer.

"I won't be needing this anymore," I said as I handed him the pile of silk and cloth. "Thanks."

My gold aura was replaced by silver. "Your welcome, lad."

I turned towards the wooden plank hanging off the ship. I was about to leave this ship, the only reality I had known since waking up that morning. I was about to embark on a quest through Equestria, wherever that would take me. It all started with a single step, just one hoof on that board, I could do it!

I raised a pale hoof, and then carefully laid it down onto the gangplank. I felt the anxiety leave me through a shallow gasp.

"And, you're sure the Arch-mage will take me in?" I asked, turning back to look at the elder blue stallion one last time.

"Just tell her 'The Captain sent you.' That should dispel any doubts she has."

"Thanks, Bronze Nut. For everything."

"Don't mention it, lad. I'd do it for anypony who fell out of the sky." We both shared a chuckle at that. There was one last awkward silence, before he broke it with a final farewell. "We'll see eachother again soon, I'm sure," he said with a wave, pulling the wooden board back onto the deck.

"Well, see you later." There was a moment's pause, and then his ship began to take to the sky once more. Just as it left, I was able to make out its name composed in beautiful golden calligraphy, next to the figurehead of an even more beautiful ivory mare: _The Celestia_.

I wondered if that name had any sort of special meaning. Knowing Bronze Nut, it most likely did. I watched the ship sail off, until the gigantic vessel became a speck of brown, and even that disappeared.

A sharp gust of wind blew over the ocean, throwing a refreshing spray over me, misting my coat. I closed my eyes, and just listened to all of the new senses around me. There was a rhythmic splash as the waves beat against the sandy shore before retreating back to their watery fortress, waiting impatiently for their next chance. There was a whisper of wind as it rustled the leaves of the nearby trees, and a bird called out to its family.

I felt the sand underneath me. Individually, each speck of sand was rough and coarse, but altogether it was soft, and my hooves sank slightly into it. The waves continued to mist my coat with each breach of the shore. It all felt so new to me, and yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it all felt familiar. None of these sensations were new, and yet I retained no memory of ever experiencing them before hoof.

I opened my eyes, shaking off the sand that clung to my coat, and saw that the brown speck that was _The Celestia_ had gone completely. I was alone.

I had been alone before – on the Captain's ship not every moment was spent with him, there were times where he went off to do his own thing – but even then I was not alone. He was still there on that ship with me. But now, he wasn't here. There was no other stallion nearby for me to call upon, however vain that notion was. I was, for the first time in my known life, alone.

I turned to the forest bordering the beach, wherein lay the path that would guide me to the Arch-mage's cottage. True, I was alone right now, but not for long.


End file.
